Treatment of gas and the like



Sept. 11, 1 A. s. LUNDY 2,567,776

TREATMENT OF GASES AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 22, 1947 Patented Sept. 11, 195 1 UNITED-7 STATES PATENT OFFICE Alvin S. Lundy, Huntington Woods, Mic h., assignor to Claude B. Schneible, Detroit, Mich.

Application November 22, 1947, Serial No. 787,584

' 4 C1aims. (01. 98-115) This invention relates o the treatment of gas, and the like, such as, for example,.gases c'ontaining dust particles, fumes, smoke, etc.-

It has heretofore been the practice to withdraw a rising column of particle-laden gas, such as agasrising froma floor grate and containing dust, smoke, fumes, etc., and to discharge the gas either into the .atmosphere or to. passv it through a separator apparatus in which the material is contacted with liquids for the removal of particles, etc. The first operationis unsatisfactory because of the contamination of the air and the distributing of the particulate .matter over the surrounding area. The second Operation, however, is also disadvantageous and expensive in that elaborate equipment must be provided for handling all of the material, including the very light fumes, smoke, etc. The apparatus for the handling of such gas and its contained material must be large enough to take care of all of thematerial because no means for separating or fractionating the rising column of gashas ever been provided. It is a fact that much of the gaseous material, including light fumes and smoke, may be discharged without harm. into the atmosphere, while only the remainingmaterial containing the particulate matter, heavy smoke particles, etc. need be treated. If an apparatus or method could be provided whereby only the latter material is treated in separating apparatus, then the separating apparatus could be greatly reduced in size, while at the same time the innocuous light gas, fumes, etc. might be discharged directly into the atmosphere without treatment.

An object of the presentinvention is'to .provide an apparatus and method which will fractionate the risin column of particle-laden gas into at least two fractions, one fraction being innocuous in character and therefore discharged directly into the atmosphere, while the other fraction is subjected to a separation operation, after which the gas freed of undesirable constituents may be discharged into the atmosphere. A still further object is to provide a means and method for subjecting a rising column of dust, smoke, fumes, etc. to a plurality of suction devices for the selective separation from the column of the material which should be passed through a separator device and the material which may be discharged without harm directly into the atmosphere. A still further object is to provide apparatus and method steps for the fractional separation of constituents in a rising column of particle-laden gas and for the separate withdrawa1 thereof.

to the atmosphere.

2 Other specific objects and advan tageswill appear as the specification proceeds.

The invention is illustrated, in a single embodiment, by the accompanying drawing, in

which there is shown a broken view in elevation of apparatus embodying my invention and with which my new method may be employed- In the illustration given, I0 designates a grate structure having grate openings I 1 through which a rising column of dust particles, smoke and fumes escape during the shaking of the. grate. The grate structure is old and is set out merely as an example of means for producing the rising column of gaseous material containing particulate matter. A frame structure l2'is provided which may be of anysuitable form or shape.- Supported in the lower portion of the frame is.

a suction intake casing 13. Leading from the intake casing or opening is a conduit l4 com municating with the inlet [5 of a separating tower or column I6. The column 15 is of wellknown construction and need not be described herein in detail. The outlet of the column communicates with a suction fan so that the column is maintained under suction, and thereby suction is also maintained upon conduit l4 and the intake [3. The column may be equipped with the usual bafiles which give the gas a rotational movement, and the rotating annulus of material may be contacted with a liquid introduced through pipe ll. The liquid containing the particulate matter may be withdrawn through the pipe 18- leading from the conical bottom IQ of the column. The details of such a column are set out fully in Schneible Patent No. 2,141,829.

Mounted at a. higher elevation than the inlet I3 is a second suction intake casing 20. The intake 29} communicates with a conduit 2| leading Mounted in the conduit is a stack fan 22. The frame l2 supports a perimetric border frame 23 in which the two intakes are supported. The intakes may be open or may be equipped with louvres or ribs 24, such as are shown in Schneible Patent No. 2,277,271.

In the operation of the device, the column of particle-laden gas as, for example, air containing CO2 and other products of combustion, dust particles, smoke, fumes, etc., rises from the grate openings, as illustrated in the drawing. As the column rises, the intake I3 creates suction extending transversely of the rising column of gas, and under the influence of such suction, the heavy particulate matter and the heavier portion of the gaseous body are drawn into the conduit l4 and discharged through the inlet [5 into the tower I6. Here the particulate matter removed and the gas is freed of such particulate matter or heavy portions thereof may be vented into the atmosphere, or otherwise treated.

After the removal of the heavier fraction, the lighter material, containing the light smoke and fumes, is discharged upwardly through the pipe 2| and vented into the atmosphere. I find that the arrangement shown, in which the lower intake and the upper intake are arranged somewhat obliquely, is advantageous in that the lower intake is slightly farther away from the column and laterally thereof, while the upper intake extends forwardly and more into the column itself. The upper intake is thus able to capture substantially :all of the light material, which escapes past the lower intake [3. In the specific illustration given, I have shown only two intakes for bringing about the fractionation desired. It will be understood, however, that any desired number of intakes may be employed for providing different degrees of .fractionation and for eifective recovery of the constituents of the rising column of gas in the desired order of recovery.

The apparatus and method are illustrated in connection with a single use, but it will be understood that the apparatus and method are equall applicable to a variety of uses in which gaseous material, containing various types of particles or various types of other constituents, may be thus fractionated so as to reduce the amount of equipment necessary for the effective treating of the material.

- In the use of the term fumes herein and in the accompanying claims, I intend to use the term in its broader sense to include vapor, smoke, and other like material, which may be discharged without harm into the atmosphere, and as distinguished from heavier fluids or particles which should be subjected to the action of a separator or other treating device.

While in the foregoing specification I have set out a method and a specific structure in great detail for the purpose of illustrating an embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that such details may be varied widely by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for treating a column of particle-laden gas rising from a grate structure, a support at one side of said grate, and a pair of pipes carried by said support and having enlarged inlets facing said column of gas, said inlets being arranged in an inclined plane and with one of the inlets extending above and in- 4 wardly of the other inlet whereby the upper inlet enters partially into the rising column of gas but terminates short of the center of said column, and means for placing said pipes under suction.

2. In combination with a grate from which rises a column of particle-laden gas, a support at one side of said grate, a plurality of pipes having inlets carried. by said support, said inlets being arranged in a plane inclined inwardly and upwardly and with the uppermost of said inlets extending into said column of gas to a distance short of the center of said grate, and means associated with said pipes for placing the same under suction.

3. In apparatus for treating a rising column of gasjsupport means, a plurality of pipes having inlets carried b-y said support means, said inlets being arranged in a plane inclined inwardly and upwardly and with the uppermost of said inlets extending into said column of gas to a distance short of the center thereof, and means associated with said pipes for placing the same under suction.

4. In apparatus for treating a rising column of gas, support means, and a pair of pipes carried by said support means and having enlarged inlets facing said column of gas, said inlets being arranged in an inclined plane and with one of the inlets extending above and inwardly of the other inlet, whereby the upper inlet enters partially into the rising column of gas but terminates short of the center of said column of gas, and means for placing said pipes under suction.

ALVIN S. LUNDY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 382,614 Knickerbocker May 8, 1888 1,502,844 Bingman July 29, 1924 1,553,569 Stickle Sept. 15, 1925 2,074,317 Allan Mar. 23, 1937 2,125,207 Suggs July 26, 1938 2,277,271 Schneible Mar. 24, 1942 2,409,088 Weits et a1. Oct. 6, 1946 2,415,471 Dorian Feb. 11, 1947 2,438,606 Hulton Mar. 30, 1948 2,443,924 Myers June 22, 1948 2,467,505 Sidell Apr. 19, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 540,347 Germany Dec. 14, 1931 

